Fantasy Baseball 2012: Roster Moves Prior to Opening Day

Within minutes of every draft wrapping up there are moves made. Sometimes its because you missed the beginning/middle/end of the draft and the computer auto drafted someone that you are not fond of, or was a 3rd shortstop. Other people look back at their draft and say what the hell was I thinking?! Well thankfully the waiver wire is always full of talent before the season begins. Below are the top players from last season that are less than 75% owned in Yahoo leagues. If you are still looking to improve your roster before the season really begins, take a look!

Fantasy Points are based on the following scoring system:

Hitters:

Singles - 1pt

Doubles - 2pts

Triples - 3pts

Homeruns - 2pts

RBI - 2pts

Runs Scored - 2pts

Walks - 1pt

Stolen Bases - 1pt

Pitchers:

Win - 10 pts

Innings Pitched - 2 pts

Earned Runs Allowed - (1pt)

Strike Outs - .5pt

Player

% Owned

H/AB

R

1B

2B

3B

HR

RBI

SB

BB

Fan Pts

Torii Hunter (LAA - OF)

74%

152/580

80

103

24

2

23

82

5

62

594

Gaby Sanchez (Mia - 1B)

62%

152/572

72

98

35

0

19

78

3

74

583

Carlos Pena (TB - 1B)

55%

111/493

72

53

27

3

28

80

2

101

579

Josh Willingham (Min - OF)

66%

120/488

69

65

26

0

29

98

4

56

569

Ryan Roberts (Ari - 2B,3B)

73%

120/482

86

74

25

2

19

65

18

66

554

Austin Jackson (Det - OF)

61%

147/591

90

104

22

11

10

45

22

56

549

Danny Espinosa (Was - 2B)

61%

135/573

72

80

29

5

21

66

17

57

545

Dexter Fowler (Col - OF)

63%

128/481

84

73

35

15

5

45

12

68

536

Juan Pierre (Phi - OF)

5%

178/639

80

155

17

4

2

50

27

43

535

Matt Joyce (TB - OF)

65%

128/462

69

75

32

2

19

75

13

49

533

Kelly Johnson (Tor - 2B)

64%

121/545

75

66

27

7

21

58

16

60

525

Raul Ibanez (NYY - OF)

15%

131/535

65

79

31

1

20

84

2

33

517

Seth Smith (Oak - OF)

11%

135/476

67

79

32

9

15

59

10

46

508

Yunel Escobar (Tor - SS)

70%

149/513

77

111

24

3

11

48

3

61

504

Danny Valencia (Min - 3B)

18%

139/564

63

94

28

2

15

72

2

40

498

Bobby Abreu (LAA - OF)

5%

127/502

54

88

30

1

8

60

21

78

494

Angel Pagan (SF - OF)

45%

125/478

68

90

24

4

7

56

32

44

488

Hideki Matsui (Oak - OF) NA

1%

130/517

58

90

28

0

12

72

1

56

487

There are no catchers on this list. Clearly that position is super weak and all of the "good" one get drafted.

First base is a super deep position, but Gaby Sanchez and Carlos Pena are extremely valuable in certain league types. Obviously Sanchez is going to have the better all around game, but Pena is returning to his roots in TB and they are a much better offensive team than the Cubs were last season.

Second base has 3 decent options here with Ryan Roberts leading the way with his multi position eligibility. Espinosa and Johnson are guys who could provide 20 HRs from the 2bl position, which was only done by 6 others. None of these guys will provide a good batting AVG though.

At the hot corner, Ryan Roberts and Danny Valencia provide top 10 third base talent from last season, if you remove Jose Bautista, Albert Pujols and Neil Walker from the list.

Shortstop is another weak position that rarely gets any help from the waiver wire.

There are 11 outfielders on that list lead by Torii Hunter who was a top 30 OF last season. Juan Pierre, Raul Ibanez, and Bobby Abreu are the only guys I would be upset with on my roster. Hideki Matsui is not currently on a roster.

Player

% Owned

IP

W

ER

K

Fan Pts

Justin Masterson (Cle - SP)

73%

216

12

77

158

554

Randy Wolf (Mil - SP)

8%

212.1

13

87

134

534.67

Colby Lewis (Tex - SP)

68%

200.1

14

98

169

527.17

Javier Vázquez (Mia - SP) NA

6%

192.2

13

79

162

517.33

Mark Buehrle (Mia - SP)

46%

205.1

13

82

109

513.17

Trevor Cahill (Ari - SP)

57%

207.2

12

96

147

512.83

Joe Saunders (Ari - SP)

3%

212

12

87

108

511

Edwin Jackson (Was - SP)

55%

199.2

12

84

148

509.33

Ryan Vogelsong (SF - SP)

56%

179.2

13

54

139

504.83

Matt Harrison (Tex - SP)

28%

185.2

14

70

126

504.33

Kyle Lohse (StL - SP)

26%

188.1

14

71

111

501.17

Wandy Rodriguez (Hou - SP)

67%

191

11

74

166

501

Ted Lilly (LAD - SP)

63%

192.2

12

85

158

499.33

Jhoulys Chacin (Col - SP)

67%

194

11

78

150

495

Justin Masterson only allowed 77 earned runs in 216 innings pitched! How is this guys just 73% owned?

Javier Vazquez might retire so dont even think about picking him up.

Guys like Mark Buehrle, Trevor Cahill, Joe Saunders, Edwin Jackson, and Jhoulys Chacin are all guys that can help your fantasy team.